it's a prequel to "the lord of the rings" trilogy. ann curry recently travelled to new zealand for an exclusive behind the scenes look at how it was made. >> reporter: in "the hobbit," new zealand is once again middle earth. in the decades that peter jackson first filmed "the lord of the rings" here, it is a community transformed. home now to film makers. the nation's capital, wellington, now known as wellingwood, hosts films like "avatar" and "king kong." >> wouldn't it have been easier for you to go to hollywood? >> we make very complicated movies. technically complicated films. these are companies that have been built by us to be able to do the films as we need to make them. if i can make films here and continue living here, i think i'm the luckiest guy in the world. >> reporter: richard taylor is a creative designer. he's worked with peter jackson for more than 25 years. taylor runs weta workshop, which creates until anything you can imagine in a movie. monsters, dwarves, and elves. he introduced us to his team of artists. >> this